Trainer Tom Morley and Victory Hall showed more than a spark in the $135,000 Maddie May Stakes at Aqueduct on Saturday. In her first race for Morley, the 3-year-old filly ignited to score a massive upset over 1-4 favorite Galinda, avenging an 11 1/4-length defeat to that runner less than a month ago. “We thought we might all be running for second or third and we didn’t want to finish fifth by not riding her to try and attain the best possible placing,” Morley said, per the New York Racing Association. “She’s really shown her guts at the end of the race there.” A stakes winner at Finger Lakes last November, Victory Hall took a massive step forward to win a much tougher race against New York-breds on Saturday. On Feb. 14, the filly made her 3-year-old debut for trainer John Ortiz and finished well back in the $130,000 East View at seven furlongs. Stretching out to a mile may have helped the filly find more in the Maddie May, but communication between Morley and jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. also seemed to improve her chances. “[Santana] said they wanted her forwardly placed last time,” Morley said. “He rode a piece of work for me this morning and he said, ‘I think that’s the wrong thing to do. She’s not stupid and she’s not keen in the race. She’ll go wherever you want her to be.’ We just wanted to let her be as good as she could be today.” :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Galinda, the 9 1/4-length winner of the East View for trainer Miguel Clement, seemed well on her way to another stakes score Saturday after leading every step of the way into the stretch. Jockey Jaime Rodriguez guided her through the opening quarter-mile in 23.48 seconds and half-mile in 46.68. With a two-length lead turning for home, Galinda was all but gone when Victory Hall and Santana came calling. Stalking the entire way, the 17-1 longshot advanced from fourth into second entering the far turn. An also-ran behind Galinda last time out, she was the only challenger to the leader Saturday. Galinda, slightly worn down in her first route attempt, still had something left near the wire, but Victory Hall kept coming and would not be denied. Blasting through the haze at Aqueduct, she ran down the 1-4 favorite in the final strides to earn her second stakes victory by a neck, completing the mile in 1:39.39 and paying $37.16 to win. “Today, I decided to take her back,” Santana said. “I like to ride for Tom. He gives me confidence. I said to him I wanted to change something — last time I rode her, I put her too close, so today I’ll take her back. You can tell she likes to run like that.” Purple Divine, the second longest shot in the field of seven for trainer Ilkay Kantarmaci, chased the favorite in the early going and held for third at 36-1 odds. She finished two lengths behind the top pair and 1 1/4 lengths ahead of Rina’s Revenge in fourth. Sculcos Folly wins first stakes in Gander Sculcos Folly cleared yet another hurdle in his 3-year-old campaign on Saturday, kicking away to his first stakes victory in the $135,000 Gander at Aqueduct. A $20,000 claimer at Laurel Park last November, the Rick Dutrow-trained colt has come a long way in three starts this year. “He has been maturing,” Dutrow said. “He’s been looking a lot better. After his third or fourth run, I said, ‘Look at this guy coming around.’ We never thought much of him at the beginning because he never showed us much and he was a smallish kind of guy, but he has grown and matured some.” After an encouraging runner-up finish in a $49,000 allowance at Laurel on Jan. 9, Sculcos Folly exploded in his first start at Aqueduct 13 days later. The 3-year-old went straight to the front under Jaime Rodriguez and won a starter/optional-claiming race by 9 3/4 lengths with a 91 Beyer Speed Figure. In a field of seven statebred stakes runners Saturday, Sculcos Folly dominated in much the same way. Stretching out to a mile for the first time, Rodriguez urged the 4-5 favorite to the early lead through an opening quarter-mile in 23.12 seconds and half-mile in 47.18. “We were a little concerned [about stretching out] because we didn’t know if he could take it or not, but the way he broke today, he was so comfortable,” Rodriguez said. “When we got to the half-mile pole, he came back to me, and I just waited.” If distance is an issue for the colt, it certainly didn’t show on the good track at Aqueduct. With a strong kick on the far turn, Sculcos Folly extended to lead by 3 1/2 lengths at the top of the stretch. Unchallenged at every point, he was clear by 5 3/4 lengths at the wire. He completed the mile in 1:36.94 and paid $3.86 to win. Minorinconvenience, the winner of the $150,000 Funny Cide at Saratoga last summer, stalked the entire way and rallied late to finish second in his 3-year-old debut for Amelia Green. He finished a neck ahead of Wamo, who closed well but had to settle for third for Michael Maker. Per the NYRA, Dutrow said the $200,000 Mind Your Biscuits division of the New York Stallion Series for New York-bred 3-year-olds at Aqueduct will be Sculcos Folly’s likely next start on April 11. The speedy stakes winner should be comfortable cutting back to 6 1/2 furlongs. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.